


If I Just Lay Here (Would You Lie With Me?)

by thelikesofus



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Jihoon can't sleep, Late at Night, Lee Jihoon | Woozi-centric, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Mentioned Choi Seungcheol | S.Coups, Mentioned Kim Mingyu, Overthinking, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Sad Jihoon, Sharing a Bed, Sleep Deprivation, Yoon Jeonghan is a Good Hyung, can be read as platonic or romatic, depressive thoughts?, jihoon needs a hug, overworked Jihoon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-07
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:02:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26333116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelikesofus/pseuds/thelikesofus
Summary: The whispers are louder tonight and as the shadows dance on the walls, Jihoon does not even realize that he is crying until the tears slip down his neck.ORJihoon can't sleep so he searches out Jeonghan to comfort him.
Relationships: Lee Jihoon | Woozi & Yoon Jeonghan, Lee Jihoon | Woozi/Yoon Jeonghan
Comments: 5
Kudos: 91





	If I Just Lay Here (Would You Lie With Me?)

The dorm is quiet and cold when Jihoon returns. The soft glow of the street lamps which guided him home now blocked out as the door slides shut behind him. There is only the dim light of the clock on the oven front, and the flickering of the television that someone forgot to turn off, which allows him to make out the shape of the furniture in the room. 

The other members are all long asleep, they knew he would be home late, he had already warned Seungcheol that morning not to wait up for him. But now, coming home to an empty dorm, he almost wished that someone was sitting on the couch, just waiting to see that he got in safely. 

On autopilot, Jihoon tiptoes through the dorm, towing off his shoes by the door, brushing his teeth in the bathroom, taking a glass of water from the kitchen sink, and then shuffling his way into his dorm room. 

They have lived in this building long enough that he knows where the creaky floorboards are, and has come home late often enough to know where to step to avoid them. He is profoundly grateful that Mingyu is a heavy sleeper as he shuffles around their room, finding a sweatshirt that definitely does not belong to him as well as a pair of sweatpants to change into. 

When he has safely slid under his covers and his back rests against the mattresses beneath him, Jihoon stares at the ceiling above and waits patiently for his brain to shut down and sleep to take him. However, the reprieve does not come. 

Glancing at the clock on his phone for the fourth time in twenty minutes Jihoon realizes that rest might be hard to come by this particular evening. It is something he is used to now. Some nights he will drop off as soon as his head touches the pillow, his mind and body exhausted from the activities of the day, yet on other nights this was not the case. 

Some nights, like tonight, he will return home and prepare for bed only to spend the next three hours staring aimlessly at the ceiling as his brain conjures increasingly elaborate and convoluted scenarios. 

When these scenarios are as wild as the stories that Seungkwan tells for entertainment during long car trips, Jihoon lets them play out like a movie in his head. Eventually, they come to an end, his brain too tired to continue the story, and he will fall asleep. 

However on nights like tonight, they are thoughts, doubts, the illusion of conversations that his consciousness has been able to push back during the day but at night, as shadows dance on the walls and Mingyu breathes rhythmically on the bunk next to him, he is unable to hide from.

The whispers are louder than usual tonight, tickling at his feet and pulling his ribcage tighter in his chest. Jihoon does not realize that he is crying until he feels the dampness on his cheek slip further down to his neck. 

Five minutes later, with no memory of how he got himself there, Jihoon finds himself standing beside Jeonghan's bed, watching the steady rise as fall of his Hyung's chest as he sleeps. He hates the idea of waking him only slightly less than the prospect of returning to his own bed and crying himself to sleep, again. Before he can stop himself his hand is already reaching out to shake Jeonghan's shoulder and within moments his Hyung has rolled towards him, sat up, and is looking directly at him, clear concern evident in his sleepy eyes.

"Jihoonie? Why are you awake?" Jeonghan's voice is soft and smooth as silk, yet his words clip at the ends, scratchy with sleep. Jihoon cannot respond, he only stares at his Hyung before reaching up to unconsciously wipe at the new tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes. He hates this, hates that he cannot keep his emotions in check. _ Hates _ that he cannot even go to sleep by himself.  _ Hates  _ feeling so vulnerable, helpless.

Jeonghan takes in each of his dongsaeng's actions before sighing lightly and shuffling to the side, lifting the covers on his bed and inviting Jihoon into the warmth with a soft smile and a tug at his wrist. 

Jihoon does not respond at first, his feet feel as though they have been glued to the floor, no matter how much he longs to climb into bed next to his Hyung, to be surrounded by his calming presence, he cannot will his feet to move.

Jeonghan notes his hesitation and instead moves so that he is sitting upright with his legs hanging off the side of the bed, Jihoon standing between them. He reaches out to clasp Jihoon's hands between each of his own and begins rubbing circular motions into his palms. Jihoon forces himself to focus on the pressure and consistent pattern until the tightness in his chest subsides. 

As his dongsaeng's shoulders relax, Jeonghan reaches up to cup Jihoon's cheeks between his palms, softly caressing his thumb around the ridges of his cheekbones. Jihoon leans into his touch and his breaths puff evenly against the delicate skin on the inside of Jeonghan's wrists. 

Jeonghan's hands slide down to rest against the sides of Jihoon's neck before removing them from his skin and once again repeating the action of shuffling towards the wall, creating space in the bed beside him, and lifting the covers to invite the younger boy to join him. 

This time Jihoon is able to move his body so that he sitting perched on the edge of Jeonghan's bed with one knee raised onto the mattress. Jeonghan reaches across to slowly guide Jihoon's legs under the covers and then applies just enough pressure to the front of his dongsaeng's chest until Jihoon is laying down under the blankets beside him.

Jeonghan takes a moment to makes sure that the blankets are pulled up snuggly under Jihoon's chin and that the pillow under his head is situated correctly before he too lays down so that he rests beside Jihoon, just close enough that their shoulders are pressed together but that Jihoon does not feel overwhelmed by his proximity. 

Almost twenty minutes pass and Jeonghan is just about to fall back to sleep when Jihoon reaches out to clasp his Hyung's hand in his smaller one. Jeonghan squeezes back softly and waits before questioning him.

"What is on your mind, Jihoon-ah?" He keeps his voice low and steady, erasing any worry from his tone. It is deathly quiet in the room, Jeonghan can only listen to Jihoon's breathing as he waits for him to respond, counting the seconds between each inhale and exhale.

"Too much." He says simply and Jeonghan nods, even though he knows that Jihoon cannot see him do so in the dark.

"Anything you want to tell me?" Jeonghan asks. This time he feels the pillow they share shift as Jihoon shakes his head in response. "Okay, we can talk in the morning if you like."

Jihoon does not respond after that, he only sighs deeply and waits for Jeonghan to rest under the covers once more. Jihoon listenings to his Hyung’s breathing, to the quiet ticking of the clock on the wall in the hallway, and to the sound of cars passing by below their building. He feels content, warm, and protected for the first time all evening and although he is aware that he will be teased mercilessly when they are found in the morning, right now he cannot bring himself to care.

In the morning he will talk to Jeonghan, probably Seungcheol as well, maybe the two of them can convince the company to push back some of the deadlines, even by a day or so, just enough to give Jihoon some room to breath. For now, though he relishes in the warmth of Jeonghan’s sheets and the softness of his pillow. Finally, he feels in eyelids begin to drop as sleep whispers lullabies in the darkness. 

With a soft sigh and a quiet shuffle, Jihoon turns himself onto his side and tucks himself under Jeonghan’s arm. He shuffles closer until Jeonghan’s arm is around his waist and Jihoon’s nose is pressed against his Hyung’s clavicle. The ghosts cannot get to him now. 

**Author's Note:**

> I have been trying to finish this OneShot for a while. Apparently I am a sucker for Hurt/Comfort fics and Sleepy Cuddles. Also, I just love the dynamic between Jihoon and Jeonghan so I wanted to write something to capture that. 
> 
> Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Kudo, Comments! <3
> 
> The title is from 'Cashing Cars' by Snow Patrol
> 
> Love you all,  
> Meegs


End file.
